Nanotechnology researchers fared very well when the Department of Energy announced the first-ever projects funded by the new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) in late October, utilizing money DOE received through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (aka the Stimulus Package). Thirty-seven projects totaling $151 Million were funded from a group of about 300 proposals solicited in this new DARPA-inspired program. According to Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Secretary Chu, “ARPA-E is a crucial part of the new effort by the U.S. to spur the next Industrial Revolution in clean energy technologies, creating thousands of new jobs and helping cut carbon pollution.”

Nanotechnology is front and center in seven projects–collectively worth over $18 Million – where it’s being asked to deliver dramatic improvements in energy storage, water utilization, direct generation of fuels from sunlight, carbon capture, or waste heat capture. Of course we wouldn’t be surprised to find nanotech in a supporting role in many of the other thirty R&D efforts selected for 2 to 3 years of first-round funding.

Envia Systems (Argonne National Laboratory) http://arpa-e.energy.gov/projects/es.html#high$4,000,000
Energy Storage, using nano-silicon-carbide anodes as a key component to store 3X the energy in lithium ion batteries as current technology, for use in vehicles.

FastCAP Systems Corporation (MIT) http://arpa-e.energy.gov/projects/es.html#low$5,349,932
Energy Storage, using nanotubes to build ultracapacitors combining battery-like energy density with greatly improved power density, for use in vehicles or to help interface wind and solar power to the electrical grid.

NanOasis Technologies, Inc. http://arpa-e.energy.gov/projects/w.html#Carbon$2,031,252
Water, using the extraordinary high flowthrough properties of carbon nanotubes to reduce the energy demands of reverse osmosis desalination processes for agricultural or municipal water supplies.

Pennsylvania State University (Sentech Corporation) http://arpa-e.energy.gov/projects/sf.html#Towards$1,900,067
Direct Solar Fuels, converting sunlight directly into methane or other fuels with catalyst-coated membranes made from titanium dioxide nanotubes.

The 5th Annual Livingston Nanotechnology Conference is less than 7 days away and the event has over 200 professionals signed up to attend. I will be moderating the Water Infrastructure panel from 2:30-3:15.

The conference has a room block. However, due to the conference being held in New York City during the holiday season, the room rate is $399 per night. Tuesday, November 24th at 5:PM EST is the cutoff date. The open rate without the room block is $479. Two years ago we had a room rate of $529. The hotel is located two blocks from the conference center.

Please call 866-240-8604 to register for the hotel and say “Livingston Nano Conference” to obtain the room block rate of $399.

1:45-2:30 Keynote – Charles Gasparino, Wall Street Investigative Reporter and Author of “The Sellout: How Three Decades of Wall Street Greed and Government Mismanagement Destroyed the Global Financial System, currently a bestseller available on Amazon.com or at all major bookstores

Conference Chairman, Rick Canady, PhD DABT http://www.mckennalong.com/professionals-1197.html, has asked me to speak on Thursday afternoon at 4:30pm. The Carbon Nanotube Coalition’s December 3, 2009 meeting will bring together manufacturers and industrial users of carbon nanotubes to examine the questions DTSC has asked and to discuss the larger policy implications they raise, such as protection of proprietary information, how to report data regarding nanomaterials across widely differing regulatory jurisdictions, and how to address concerns about measuring and monitoring nanomaterials in the environment. The invitation-only meeting will include presentations and discussions limited to industry members followed by a question and answer session with DTSC policy makers.

1. What is the value chain for your company? For example, in what products are your carbon nanotubes used by others? In what products? In what quantities? Who are your major customers?

2. What sampling, detection, and measurement methods are you using to monitor (detect and measure) the presence of your chemical in the workplace and the environment? Provide a full description of all required sampling, detection, measurement, and verification methodologies. Provide full QA/QC protocol.

3. What is your knowledge about the current and projected presence of your chemical in the environment that results from manufacturing, distribution, use, and end-of-life disposal?

I will be speaking at the 5th Annual Livingston Nanotechnology Conference on December 7th held at the Lighthouse International Conference Center http://www.lhiconferencecenter.com/ in New York City. My good friend, Scott Livingston, Founder & CEO of Livingston Securities http://www.livingstonsecurities.com/ has asked me be the moderator of the Capital and Investment – Trends on Wall Street session, on Monday December 7th from 10:45-11:30. It seems like it was only last week when Scott asked me in June of 2005, “Vincenzo, www.vincentcaprio.org I would like to have a conference in December on Pearl Harbor Day. Can you help me?” My immediate answer was, “Yes I can!” That was four years ago. Time flies. Here we are a month away from our 5th annual conference.

The line up of Keynote Speakers for this year’s conference is phenomenal: